VocalTec Internet Phone (TM) Version 3.2 (Build 21) - 25 March, 1996 ===================================== Copyright(c) 1993-1996 by VocalTec Ltd. New features for version 3.2: - Improved Audio Quality - Internet Phone on the World Wide Web - Working with Internet Phone in a Toolbox mode - Improved Preferences control - Improved Audio Quality This version of Internet Phone lets you select one of three audio quality modes: 1. Standard Audio Quality for 14.4K connection - using a bandwidth of 10.5k bit/sec. (Same as version 3.0 quality). 2. High Audio Quality for 14.4K connection - using a bandwidth of 12.5k bit/sec. 3. High Audio Quality for 28.8K connection using a bandwidth of 15.3k bit/sec. Select the audio quality mode from the Quality menu. You can change the audio quality only before starting a call. If you are using an 28.8K connection choose the High Audio Quality for 28.8K mode for having a smaller delay and a better handling of lost packets. If you have a poor connection or slow computer and get bad results using the High Quality mode, choose the Standard Audio Quality mode. Please note that the actual conversation quality depends on both parties, Internet Phone will switch both users to the mode using less bandwidth. For example, if one party chooses Standard Quality and the other selects High Quality, Standard Quality will be used. The conversation quality is indicated by the IN and OUT indicators which will flash with green for Standard Quality, yellow for 14.4K High Quality and cyan for 28.8K High Quality. When talking to people who have older versions of Internet Phone the Standard Quality will be used (you can see the remote user build number by selecting the User Info option in the Options menu. If you see that it is older than build 20 you can advise him or her to download the new version...) The default quality when running Internet Phone for the first time is the Standard Quality. - Internet Phone on the World Wide Web This version of Internet Phone lets you make calls to Internet Phone users from within a Web browser (This feature was checked to work with Netscape and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. It may not work with other browsers). You can add standard hypertext links to Internet Phone users or topics in Web pages. When you choose such a link in a Web browser, the Web browser automatically runs Internet Phone, which connects to a server and starts a call to the user. Internet Phone maintains a local HTML file (IPHONE.HTM, located in the Internet Phone directory) to which you can add links to any Internet Phone user. This file serves as a sort of private phone-book, which you can access from within Internet Phone or from your Web browser. Adding new links to this file is simple: choose a Quick Dial button using the right mouse button and choose "Save HTML Link" from the pop-up menu. This adds to the IPHONE.HTM file a new link to the user listed under the Quick Dial button (by setting a button that holds your own name, you can save an HTML link to yourself). To add such links to other HTML files, simply cut and paste them from the IPHONE.HTM file to the desired file. This feature finally integrates the Internet Phone and the World Wide Web. At last, you can add an Internet Phone link to your Home Page. Users that surf the net can now contact you directly! Phone-books or user lists can be compiled on the Web. Organizations can now provide information, service or support, directly from within their Web site (for such a purpose, it is probably better to add a link to a topic - even to a private one - instead of to a specific user). These are only some of the many possibilities that this feature opens to Internet users. For more information on using this feature, choose "Search for Help On" from the Internet Phone Help menu, type "Web" and open the corresponding topic. - Toolbox mode Another feature provided by this version of the software is the ability to turn the Internet Phone into a compact toolbox. This allows you to easily use Internet Phone while using other applications, without wasting precious desktop space. For more information on using this feature, choose "Search for Help On" from the Internet Phone HELP menu, type "toolbox" and open the corresponding topic. - Improved Preferences control The Preferences dialog box has changed to provide better control of the audio format used by the Internet Phone. In order to use Internet Phone, you need... ------------------------------------------- 1. Windows 3.1 or higher. 2. 8MB of RAM recommended. 3. 486SX 25Mhz or faster recommended. For full-duplex conversation, a 486 50MHz is required. The high quality audio mode requires more CPU power than the standard audio quality mode. 4. Windows compatible audio board, with speaker and microphone. For full-duplex conversation, a full-duplex audio card or two different audio cards are required, and we recommend, for the full duplex mode, an earphone rather than a speaker. See http://www.vocaltec.com for an updated list of full duplex cards. 5. TCP/IP software with WINSOCK 1.1 support. 6. A SLIP/PPP, or direct Internet connection (14,400 baud minimum). Skip this section if you are running setup from a distribution diskette: Installing the Internet Phone ----------------------------- 1. Make sure that your microphone and speaker work properly, by recording yourself using the Microsoft's Sound Recorder. 2. Execute the self-extracting archive IPHONE18.EXE 3. Choose File/Run and execute C:\IPHONE\SETUP A new program-manager group file will be created, with icons for The Internet Phone and Help file 4. Double-click the Internet Phone / Internet Wave icon. 5. The first time you run the Internet Phone Software, a Quick Tour will be suggested to you. 6. Start talking with the rest of the world! Setting up for Full-Duplex Conversation --------------------------------------- 1. You must have a full-duplex audio card, or two different normal (half-duplex) audio cards in order to use full-duplex mode. 2. Make sure that the modem compression and (possibly) error correction is turned off. See "Modem Settings" below. 3. The Internet Phone will test your system performance and its capacity for Full-duplex support on the first time you run the new version. If you use two audio cards you will be asked to specify which one to use for speaking and which one for listening. Choose Preferences from the Options menu to change those settings in the Preference dialog box. Full-duplex mode will not be set if your system does not have a full-duplex audio card, or two audio cards. 4. Choose "Full Duplex" from the tool bar or from Options menu. 5. When starting a conversation, the bottom status line will show you the connection mode: - Full Duplex - both sides are using full-duplex mode. Both sides can talk and listen at the same time. - Local FDX - your system is in full-duplex mode, but the remote system is only half duplex. The conversation will be half duplex, but you will be able to break into your partner's speech. - Remote FDX - your system is set up for half-duplex operation, and remote system is set for full-duplex operation. - Speak/Listen - Normal half-duplex display. Problems using Full-Duplex Conversation --------------------------------------- The most obvious problem with full-duplex conversation is acoustic feedback. It is strongly recommended to use full-duplex mode with a headset. Alternately, try lowering the speaker volume, and put it as far as possible from the microphone. Improper setting of your full-duplex configuration, might interfere with your partner's speech: If a half-duplex user is calling you, and your voice-activation is set too low, every time his speech is heard in the speaker, it might trigger your system to start transmitting. Since your partner's system is half-duplex, it will stop speaking and start hearing what you're transmitting to him - his own speech! Removing the Internet Phone --------------------------- If you installed the Internet Phone, and wish to remove it, or even just to re-locate it in another directory, do the following: 1. Load the file WIN.INI into a text editor (e.g. NOTEPAD) 2. Locate the "[Sounds]" section 3. Inside that section, remove all "Internet Phone" sounds. 4. If you then run the Internet Phone again, it will re-install its sound files from its new current directory. 5. If you relocate the Internet Phone without removing these entries, you'll notice that the indication sounds (busy, ringing, etc) are gone. About The Internet Phone Network -------------------------------- The Internet Phone uses the Internet Phone Servers Network to show the currently on-line users. The actual conversation is performed directly between the PC's running the Internet Phone, and not via the servers. To get the latest list of servers, get the file IRCSRVRS.INI from the FTP site: ftp.vocaltec.com /pub or from our WEB site http://www.vocaltec.com/net.html and copy it into your local C:\IPHONE directory. Selecting a Server ------------------ In order to use the Internet Phone, you must be connected to an Internet Phone Server, which uses the IRC protocol. When you first run the Internet Phone, You have to choose an Internet Phone Server from the list of Internet Phone Servers. You can select a different server anytime you like. It is better to select the server nearest to you. However, there isn't any difference which server you connect to: All servers hold an updated list of all Internet Phone users. Once you're connected to the network, you can call any other Internet Phone user that is connected to the Internet Phone network. There is no need for both of you to use the same Internet Phone Server. Please note that by "nearest" we mean over the net, but usually geographically close places have a better network connection. It is possible to connect to IRC servers outside the Internet Phone network. In this case, you will be able to talk only with Internet Phone users using the same network. Technical Support ----------------- Before calling VocalTec for technical support, please do the following: 1. Choose Troubleshooting from the Help menu in the Internet Phone window. It contains a list of problems and solutions. 2. Look at the technical support page on our Web server: http://vocaltec.com/trouble.html 3. Select "Technical Support" from the Help menu for information on how to contact VocalTec. Modem Settings -------------- The modem initialization string should be changed to allow faster transfer: 1. You should add the characters "%C0\N1" to the string to disable data compression and error corrections. It is possible that different modems will use different AT commands. If your modem does not response correctly to the above commands you should look for the AT command table in your modem documentation for the right commands. 2. To edit the initialization string in Netmanage Chameleon you can enter setup/modem/initialize and add the above characters to the string. 3. In Trumpet you can edit your "login.cmd" script. Look for the line: "$modemsetup = "&C1..." and add the above characters to the string. 4. If you are using some other TCP/IP software as your Internet connection, Try to find out the way to edit the modem initialization string. END of README.TXT